Ordered,
	That Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown be discharged from the Committee of Selection and Mr Andrew Robathan be added to the Committee.—[Mr. Watts.]

Tony Blair: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has just passed me a copy of his parliamentary answer from, I think, a few days ago, which states:
	"Careful research by officials has been unable to identify any occasions since 11 September 2001, or earlier in the Bush Administration, when we received a request for permission by the United States for a rendition through UK territory or airspace, nor are we otherwise aware of such a case."
	On United States Government flights coming in and out, those take place for a whole series of reasons. We receive visits from people from the United States Government the entire time.—[Interruption.] I have to say that the Liberal Democrats are quite extraordinary sometimes. The idea that we should investigate every time that a United States Government plane flies into this country is completely absurd.
	Q2. Linda Gilroy (Plymouth, Sutton) (Lab/Co-op): What more is the Prime Minister prepared to do to help Plymouth police to ensure that drug barons and other hardened criminals are not able to profit from their ill-gotten gains?

Tony Blair: I am certainly happy to see how much more information can be put in the public domain, consistent with the proper legal procedures. I hope that the right hon. Gentleman will accept from me, however, that the decision was not taken by any Minister, and neither was there any political interference in that decision. The decision to prosecute is taken by the DPP, and he has decided not to proceed with it. I do not know the reasons for that; I simply know that that is what he has decided. I will, however, examine whether, consistent with the proper legal procedures, we are able to give more information, but the decision was taken solely on the authority of the prosecuting authorities.
	Q3. Mr. Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op): Will my right hon. Friend join me in condemning Conservative-controlled Enfield council, which only last week turned down £1 million of economic development assistance because it refused to match-fund that sum? That will affect the most disadvantaged and deprived parts of my community. Is not all this talk about concerned conservatism simply hot air? Sadly, the reality is that it is still the uncaring and nasty party that we all know.

Tony Blair: I am happy to pay tribute to the Department of my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, and to Swindon borough council for the excellent work that it is doing. It shows that with the right level of investment and funding, and partnership between local and central Government, a real difference can be made to the quality of life of local communities.
	Q4. Mr. Peter Robinson (Belfast, East) (DUP): May I return the Prime Minister to the issue of the Stormont spy ring? He says that the decision was made by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Can he say whether the DPP sought or received advice from the Attorney-General, or whether there was any consultation with any other Minister?
	Is the Prime Minister aware that three possible reasons for the DPP's decision are being canvassed in Northern Ireland? One is that there was not enough evidence to secure a prosecution; another is that the Government have done a deal with the Provisional IRA; and the third is that they were protecting sensitive, if not embarrassing, evidence and agents. Will the Prime Minister tell us which it was?

Tony Blair: I have to say to my hon. Friend that I entirely understand the concern—and, indeed, the anger—in certain quarters, but again, these decisions have to be taken by the prosecuting authorities. I think that I would quite rightly be subject to a great deal of criticism if I sought to intervene in those decisions.
	Q5. Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con): Last week, the National Audit Office, the permanent secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions and the Treasury's own officer of accounts all told the Public Accounts Committee that
	"The complexity of the benefits system . . . has deterred saving for retirement".
	The only people who disagree with that are the Chancellor and the hon. Member for Normanton (Ed Balls). Are they right or is everyone else correct?

Tony Blair: We are all agreed that there is a need for pensions reform, which is precisely the reason why we commissioned the Turner report. When we put forward our proposals next year, I hope that they will get support in every part of the House.
	Q6. Mr. John Grogan (Selby) (Lab): Will the Prime Minister consider, as a well-deserved Christmas present to Labour Back Benchers, giving us a free vote on smoking, particularly as much of the pub and hospitality industry now supports a complete ban?

Tony Blair: I take it from the fact that my hon. Friend says that it is well deserved that he is going to be fully supportive of the Government in all the Divisions to come in the next few months. I said what I said on smoking last week, and we will continue, obviously, to talk to people about it, but I would point out that, on any basis, the vast bulk of smoking in public places is going to be banned under this legislation. I am aware that a debate continues as to whether we should go even further, and I shall listen to that debate with interest.
	Q7. Dr. Vincent Cable (Twickenham) (LD): Is the Prime Minister aware that 97 per cent. of executions in the world take place in China, Vietnam, Iran and George Bush's United States, which passed the 1,000 mark this week? Since this is an area in which the European Union has considerable moral and political authority, what role is the Prime Minister playing, as EU President, in exercising international leadership to curb this practice?